1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of a mounting base apparatus and more particularly to a mounting base apparatus for an electrical power measuring device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical energy measurement devices are extensively employed to measure electrical power consumption by specific customers or users. Typically, watt-hour meters are used for measuring and indicating electrical power consumption in kilowatt-hours by residential customers. The watt-hour meters are usually of the induction type having a horizontal rotating disk providing a high degrees of reliability and accuracy. Such meters are commercially available from a number of suppliers at reasonable costs and are capable of highly reliable outdoor operation under extremes of temperature and other widely varying ambient operating conditions. The widespread use of such meters is also furthered by the ease with which it can be installed.
The conventional method of determining customer use of electrical energy is to locate a kilowatt-hour meter at the electrical power entry point of the customer's electrical network. Normally such meters are located exteriorly of any building or structure so that they may be read without need for access to the customers building or residence. Numerous systems have been disclosed in the prior art for measuring the usage or power consumption of electricity by a particular customer. Examples of such systems include the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 4,378,524 Steinmuller 4,291,375 Wolf 4,253,151 Bouve 4,250,552 Elms 4,077,061 Johnston et al. 3,947,762 Hug 3,836,852 Ross 3,764,908 Elms 3,760,273 Burkett et al. 4,415,853 Fisher 4,399,510 Hicks 4,360,879 Cameron 4,351,028 Peddie et al. 4,345,311 Fielden 4,261,037 Hicks 4,283,772 Johnston 4,236,217 Kennedy 4,315,212 Gamoh 4,182,983 Heinrich et al. 4,120,031 Kincheloe et al. ______________________________________
Some systems, such as disclosed in Gilkerson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,557 disclosed the electrical usage in quantity of power consumed as well as directly in dollar cost.
While most such measurement systems are intended to determine or measure total electrical power usage by a particular user, a number of such devices are intended to measure power consumption of a specific appliance or electrical load. Examples of such measurement systems or meters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,010,417 (to Ionescu) and 4,314,201 (to Marro et al) as well as the article entitled "Power Meter--its an energy saver and troubleshooter" published in the March, 1976 issue of Popular Science at page 162. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,376 to McCahill.
As noted previously, the most common watt-hour meter is the induction type that is normally installed for the residential user. Examples of such meters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,257,004; 4,368,424; and 4,413,230, all naming Robert C. Miller as inventor. Such meters are designed with a housing having four knife blade electrical terminals for ease of mating with corresponding plurality of socket or base terminals positioned in the conventional meter-mounting box. The plug-in meter is then secured to the metal meter-mounting housing with a conventional ring-like metal peripheral clamp that is sealed shut with a soft metal clamp to prevent tampering, unauthorized adjustments or removal of the meter. Because a metallic mounting base is normally used, a lightening arrester is normally built into the meter itself for protection. The arrester is then electrically connected to the grounding strap.
The above mentioned patents are hereby incorporated by this specific reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.